1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a car top carrier assembly, and particularly one that is characterized by a uniquely constructed container that is superposed upon at lease one horizontally disposed means for mounting the assembly upon a car top. The embodiment of the invention illustrated herein includes a container construction which requires no internal load-bearing frame, since the frame itself is defined by a number of extrusions which function as frame, corner and edge defining members. All corners and edges of the carrier container are radiused so that there are no sharp intersections between the planar surfaces which otherwise define the rectangular solid configuration of the container. In the preferred embodiment the carrier mounting is a support which exerts contractive mounting forces only on the edges of the car top, when a crank handle is turned to contract support tubes which otherwise are freely slideable within a track mounted below the bottom surface of the container. The container is further characterized by a side access door in one or more vertical sides of the container, with the access door being hinged to a perimetrical flange portion on the lower horizontal edge support on that side. The thusly hinged door allows very efficient loading of the carrier, by standing at one side of the vehicle upon which the carrier is mounted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art car top carrier constructions are illustrated by the prior art specifically noted in the co-pending parent application entitled Adjustable Car Top Carrier Support, which is incorporated herein by reference. There is not known in the prior art a car top carrier assembly which is characterized, firstly, by an overall rectangular solid configuration having all edges and corners radiused between all intersections of the planar surfaces which define the overall rectangular shape. Secondly, the present invention provides for a particularly strong and light weight structural arrangement by employing four vertical extruded corners and upper horizontal edge supports upon a horizontal deck member as the load-bearing structure of the container. The structural frame defined by these load-bearing members allows the carrier access door to be mounted directly upon portions of perimetrical flanges of these extruded members, and also allows aluminium sheet material to be flangedly mounted to define the other planar surfaces of the container. Thirdly, the use of extruded vertical corner and horizontal edge members with perimetrical flanges allows simplicity of construction, since various portions of the perimetrical flanges interconnect the vertical corner members and horizontal edge members, as well as providing a simple fashion of mounting the access door frame and the planar top and side members. The prior art known to applicants does not allow for the structural integrity which is obtained by the present invention, and particularly a structural integrity which allows for a upwardly hinged access door to be mounted directly upon the load-bearing members of the container. Finally, the present invention is significantly characterized by the interconnection of the superposed container with the car top carrier support mechanism, whereby pairs of horizontal and contractable support tubes are freely slideable within carrier tracks mounted on the bottom surfaces of the container, so that contraction of the support tubes will also cam the superposed container in a position as the device is mounted upon a car top.